There are many instances in which an author produces a document by fitting multiple content portions onto a page, or multiple pages, of a document. The content portions are typically set out on the page within predefined regions or areas which contributes to the style of the document, possibly making it more aesthetically pleasing by minimising alignment lines or perhaps making the document easier to read by providing a sequence for the eye to follow. For example, most brochures or catalogues will include content portions which are fitted to containers that define rows and or columns. The number of rows or columns and their location will be fixed during authoring to give the page a coherent appearance when viewed alongside other pages of the brochure or maybe just to make each page different.
It is known to provide tools for the automatic composition of a page or part of a page of a document. A typical tool will take as its inputs a set of content portions and a document to which they are to be fitted together with a set of rules which may be associated with the document. An example of a rule is that the maximum amount of content possible should be fitted to the page. Another may be that no one content portion may be shown more than once on a page of the document. The composition tool usually tries to fit the content portions into the document as best it can, maximising the amount of contents portions fitted yet conforming to the rules associated with the document.
Examples of typical documents that are set out in this way are sales catalogues, brochures and advertising pamphlets. Content portions could take many forms, perhaps an image or a graphic or a rectangular block of text or a combination of these. They may comprise sale items.
The task of fitting content portions to a document is complex when the shape and size of the content portions vary. There may be many possible ways in which the content portions can be fitted to the document. However, of these perhaps only one or no solutions may obey the rules associated with the document. In the past this has required trial and error by the author, which is time consuming.